The present invention relates generally to support assemblies, and, more particularly, to a support assembly for permitting a reduced-sized, card member to be received by a standard-sized, card-receiving apparatus.
A communication system is operative to transmit information between two or more locations, and includes, at a minimum, a transmitter and a receiver interconnected by a communication channel. A radio communication system is a communication system in which the communication channel comprises a radio frequency channel wherein the radio frequency channel is defined by a range of frequencies of the communication spectrum.
The transmitter which forms a portion of the radio communication system includes circuitry for converting the information into a form suitable for transmission thereof upon a radio frequency channel. Such circuitry includes modulation circuitry which performs a process referred to as modulation. In such a process, the information which is to be transmitted is impressed upon a radio frequency electromagnetic wave, commonly referred to as a carrier signal. The resultant signal, formed of a combination of the carrier signal and the information, is commonly referred to as a modulated signal. Such resultant signal is also referred to as a communication signal as the modulated signal includes the information which is to be communicated between the transmitter and the receiver.
Various modulation schemes are known for impressing the information upon the carrier signal to form thereby the communication signal. For instance, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, said combinations thereof are all modulation schemes by which information may be impressed upon a carrier wave to form the communication signal.
Radio communication systems are advantageous in that no physical interconnection is required between the transmitter and the receiver; once the information signal is modulated to form a modulated signal, the modulated signal may be transmitted over large distances.
Additionally, numerous modulated signals may be simultaneously transmitted at different frequencies of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum. Transmission of communication signals on frequency channels defined upon certain frequency bands of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum is regulated by regulatory bodies.
A two-way, radio communication system is a radio communication system, similar to the radio communication system above-described, but which further permits both transmission of information to a location, and transmission of information from that location. Each location of such two-way radio communication system contains both a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter and the receiver positioned at a single location typically comprise a unit referred to as a radio transceiver, or, more simply, a transceiver.
A cellular communication system is one type of two-way radio communication system in which communication is permitted with a radio transceiver positioned at any location within a geographic area encompassed by the cellular communication system.
A cellular communication system is created by positioning a plurality of fixed-site radio transceivers, referred to as base stations, at spaced-apart locations throughout the geographic area. The base stations are connected to a conventional, wireline, telephonic network. Each base station has associated therewith a portion of the geographic area located proximate to each of such base stations. Such portions are referred to as cells. The plurality of cells, each defined by corresponding ones of the base stations of the plurality of base stations, together define the coverage area of the cellular communication system.
A radio transceiver, referred to in a cellular communication system as a radio telephone, positioned at any location within the coverage area of the cellular communication system is able to communication with a user of the conventional, wireline, telephonic network by way of a base station. Modulated signals are transmitted between the radio telephone and the base station to effectuate communication therebetween.
New designs of radio telephones operative in a cellular communication system include new innovations which increase the convenience of use of such radio telephones. An assembly referred to as a card reader assembly constitutes one such innovation included in the designs of several new constructions of radio telephones.
A card reader assembly comprises structure forming a receiving platform and electrodes positioned in proximity to the receiving platform. The electrodes are also coupled to other structure of the radio telephone and are operative to form an electrical connection with corresponding electrodes of a memory element when such memory element is positioned at the receiving platform of the card reader assembly.
Identification indicia is stored in the memory element such identification indicia typically includes an identification member to be utilized for billing purposes to bill a phone call made with the radio telephone to a particular billing account.
The memory element is typically disposed upon a card member and the electrodes of the memory element are disposed upon a face surface of such card member. The card member is operative not only to support the memory element and the electrodes, but also to align to electrodes of the memory element with the electrodes of the card reader assembly when the card member is positioned at the receiving platform.
When the electrodes are suitably aligned with one another, thereby to connect the memory element with the circuitry of the radio telephone, the information stored within the memory element may be transferred to the circuitry of the radio telephone.
Because the card member may be removed from a card reader assembly of one radiotelephone, and inserted within the card reader assembly of another radiotelephone, calls made from more than one radiotelephone may be billed to a single billing account.
Radiotelephone constructions having card reader assemblies incorporated therein are advantageous, as a user of more than one radiotelephone may alternately operate the two or more radiotelephones while requiring only a single billing account.
Standardization of the size of the card member as well as the locations at which the electrodes are located on the face surface thereof is required so that the card member may be inserted into the card reader assembly and so that, once positioned at the receiving platform, the electrodes of the card member align with corresponding electrodes of the card reader assembly. The construction of the card reader assembly must be correspondingly standardized.
In standard configurations, the electrodes formed upon the face surface of the card member are arranged in an array of two rows, each of three electrodes (i.e., a two by three array of electrodes).
However, at least two standard configurations of card-member dimensions exist. A first standardized configuration of card member, sometimes referred to as a C-Net-sized card member (as specified in the International Standard, ISO 7816, parts one through three), defines dimensions of the card member to correspond generally to the physical dimensions of a conventional credit card. Such card member shall, at times, hereafter be referred to as a standard-sized card member. The electrodes of the memory element are disposed at standardized locations upon a face surface of such card member to permit alignment of the electrodes with a corresponding electrodes of the card reader assembly once the card member is inserted into the card reader assembly to be supported at the receiving platform thereof.
A second, standardized configuration of card member, sometimes referred to as a D-Net-sized card member (as specified in the International Standard, ISO 7816, parts one through three), defines dimensions of the card member to be of a much-reduced length and width relative to that of the C-Net-sized card member. The thickness of the D-Net-sized card member, however, is substantially similar to that of the C-Net sized card member. Such card member shall, at times, hereinafter be referred to as a card member of reduced dimensions. Again, the electrodes of the memory element are disposed at standardized locations upon a face surface of such card member to permit alignment of the electrodes with corresponding electrodes of a card reader assembly operative to receive such a card member.
The arrangement of the electrodes of the memory elements of both standardized configurations of card members are similar in that the electrodes are arranged in a two by three array of electrodes. However, because the dimensions of the two different configurations of card members are otherwise dissimilar, a card member of one of the standardized configurations generally cannot be utilized in a card reader assembly constructed to receive the other of the configurations of the card members.
While a card member of the smaller dimensions can be inserted into a card reader assembly operative to receive a card member of the larger dimensions, alignment of the electrodes of the memory element and of the card reader assembly can only be effected with some difficulty. Because of the smaller dimensions of the card member of the reduced dimensions, no alignment function is performed by such card member.
Because existing card members of the two different standardized configurations are essentially incompatible, a user must have separate card members, each containing a separate billing number to ensure that such user shall be able to operate a radio telephone having either type of card reader assembly. Such need for separate billing numbers significantly increases the costs required to operate such phones.
What is needed, therefore, is apparatus permitting a card member of the reduced dimensions (e.g., a D-Net-sized card member) configuration to be operative in either a card reader constructed to receive a card member of such reduced dimensions or a card reader assembly constructed to receive a card member of the larger dimensions (e.g., a C-Net-sized card member).